


Acting in the Background

by arrowsshootyouforwards



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Acting AU, Art at the bottom, I drew it but I'm not an artist, Joe and Nicky meet as background actors on a dating show, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26959057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrowsshootyouforwards/pseuds/arrowsshootyouforwards
Summary: Joe and Nicky meet when they are working as background actors on a dating show on a fake date. When the show airs, the audience is more interested in the pair of them in the background than the actual featured people on a real date.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh, Booker | Sebastien le Livre/Nile Freeman, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 28
Kudos: 279





	Acting in the Background

Joe pulled out and held two shirts intermittently in front of his body, trying to decide on which to wear to the filming that afternoon. Normally he wouldn’t go for this specific type of show, but he’d been booking less and less jobs recently and rent and travel to auditions he wasn’t getting was starting to get at his confidence. Normally he was in a few commercials and TV shows as background, but the show he’d been a regular background character in had been cancelled by the channel it was broadcast on and the commercial work had dried up when they started a new campaign that he didn’t fit the image for.

Joe groaned, the direction from the wardrobe department was vague, he had to dress like he was on a date, but the clothes couldn’t be flashy or grab the attention away from the featured couples. He really didn’t want to be turned away from his first job in weeks, but not many of his clothes felt right. Tossing them frustratedly on his bed, he jogged downstairs to the lounge where his housemate was watching the football from the day before when he’d been at work. On a normal day, Joe would’ve flopped down onto the sofa and joined him, but today he had to go to the job. He needed the money.

“Book, can I borrow a shirt? Nothing I have is plain enough or not got holes in it enough.” He asked leaning in the doorway in just his formal pants. “Hey Nile,” he nodded over to Booker’s girlfriend who was under his arm.

“Hey, hot date?” She asked.

“I wish,” he rolled his eyes, “no, I caved and agreed to do the background work in that dating show,” he told her, “the wardrobe has to be ‘date-worthy’ but not ‘flashy’ so I don’t distract from the people who actually want to go on the show,” he told her. He turned his attention back to Booker, “Please?” He asked, shooting his housemate his most pleading look.

“Sure, Nile helped me pick some new shirts the other week, they’re hung on the back of the door-”

“You said you hung them up,” Nile rolled her eyes. “I’ll help you find one,” she got up and winked at Joe, “this isn’t even a real sport,” she teased, jogging passed Booker before he could grab at her waist and tickle her into submission. Nile was American but had moved to the UK as a teenager when her dad was in the military. She had gone to University here and studied and began working in Media.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Joe said, hugging her with one arm and kissing her tightly braided hair. “I owe you a million.”

“Don’t worry about it, just try and enjoy yourself, maybe pick up a hottie,” she told him, leading him through to Booker’s room.

“I’m only an extra, I’m not going on a real date,” he reminded her as she looked at the shirts, “I don’t even get my meal comped,” he added.

“Well that sucks,” she commented, “here, try this one,” she said holding out a blue shirt. He pulled it on, buttoning it up in the mirror, leaving the top two open and fiddling with the sleeves to roll them up so he was more comfortable. He turned to face her to get her opinion. “Hmm,” she nodded, approvingly. “It’s a little tight on the upper arms, but I think that works in your favour,” she told him. “It still had the tag on, I don’t think he’s even looked at it,” she rolled her eyes. “ _‘I think I need new work shirts Nile, please help me, you know clothing better than me,’”_ she said in a purposely bad French accent. Joe chuckled.

“He’s not wrong there, you know he doesn’t care what he wears, imagine if he’d been left to do it himself,” he reasoned, and she laughed with him. “Thank you, I have to finish getting ready before I miss my train,” he kissed her cheek, “thank you, you’re a life saver and I love you.”

Twenty minutes later, Joe flew down the stairs, calling his farewells to Nile and Booker.

“Quynh, come on!” Nicky tapped his foot impatiently. “This was your idea, come on before we get turned away for being late,” he called, again checking his watch.

“Coming, coming, sorry, I had to go back to turn off the curling iron,” she apologised, brushing a stray curl behind her ear, dashing out of the door and to Nicky’s car, covering their heads with their jackets to avoid the persistent downpour. Nicky drove them, following directions from Quynh’s phone, which was plugged into the dashboard, so it didn’t die on them. Quynh had convinced Nicky to take this job with her by reminding him of how long it had been since he was last picked for a part, and how his savings were being eaten up.

Nicky didn’t normally do background work in Reality TV, but at this point a part was a part and the agency he and Quynh were with promised there was more work coming for the both of them. On nights they worked in a local bar to make ends meet but acting was what they both really wanted to do. Nicky pulled into the multi-story parking lot and Quynh went to get their parking ticket to put in the windscreen. It wasn’t raining in town and they made their way to the meeting point for the cast and crew.

They were relieved to see that they weren’t the last to arrive as they were waiting for one last person who was stuck on a delayed train. While they waited, the director came and told them their instructions. Pretend to be on a date with whoever they were paired with; don’t be too noisy or distracting; you can talk, but keep the noise down; eat slowly, it’s a long shoot; feel free to order an alcoholic beverage, but don’t get rowdy.

The director, a firm and somewhat intimidating woman who introduced herself as Andy, began pairing them off based on notes she had been given by the casting people. She paired Quynh off with some guy, disappointing Nicky, who thought if they arrived together, they would be paired together. Andy approached him after pairing off everyone else. “Nicky, right?” She asked, looking down at her clipboard as he stuttered a response. “I’ve got you down as willing to be paired with man or a woman, we’ve put you with our late runner, he’s called Yusef Al-Kaysani. We’ve had a call, he’s about 20 minutes away so help yourself to a coffee while you wait and we’ll get you seated before the first couple arrive,” she told him, waving to a machine in the back of the room.

15 minutes later, a man hurried into the room looking thoroughly flustered and apologised profusely to Andy, who waved Nicky over to her. “This is Nicky, freshen up in the restroom back there and I’ll get you guys seated.” Andy walked away and Nicky looked up to see an extremely handsome and flustered stranger.

The stranger stuck a hand out to shake, “Hi, I’m Yusef, but most people call me Joe,” he said, “nice to meet you,” he added with a smile that dazzled Nicky briefly.

“Hello,” Nicky said, snapping back to reality, “I’m Nicky.”

Joe excused himself to splash cool water on his face and cool down before he and Nicky were seated across from one another at a table in the restaurant next door. Nicky could see Quynh at a table by the window, she was facing him and already looked fed up, pretending to listen as the man across from her talked.

A waitress stopped by their table and took their drink orders, Joe ordered a glass of wine, Nicky a mocktail, explaining he was driving. They sat quietly for a few minutes, before both attempting to break the silence together, chuckling and gesturing to each other to go first. Tension broken, Nicky relaxed his shoulders, “you go,” he said, chuckling.

“I was going to ask if it was your first-time doing background work?” Joe smiled.

“First-time doing this type of show, but not the first-time doing it,” Nicky returned his smile, “have you?”

“Same as you with the first in the genre, but I’ve done lots of background before. It’s been slow recently, so I decided to give it a go,” he shrugged. “Something wrong?” Joe asked as Nicky was pulling a face he couldn’t place.

“I’m sure it’s nothing, but I recognise you, I just can’t place you,” Nicky said. “I’m sure it will come to me,” Nicky waved the idea off, hoping it would. There was something painfully familiar about Joe, but his brain couldn’t connect the dots.

They made small talk for a short while, sipping their drinks until Andy interrupted them, announcing that the featured people were coming in under five minutes and reminded them of the rules as their waitress returned to take their orders for starters.

“So were you expecting someone like myself when you arrived today?” Joe asked, making Nicky’s cheeks and ears flash pink.

“Honestly, I think I got luckier than my housemate,” Nicky chuckled, Quynh was looking ready to tear her hair out. They watched as Andy went over to see what Quynh’s issue was. The man she had been paired with, stood and threw his napkin on the table in front of him, storming out. Andy put a hand on Quynh’s shoulder and looked to be reassuring her of something. Quynh nodded and picked up her bag, speaking to Andy while looking at Nicky.

Andy nodded and Quynh hurried over to him, “hi, sorry to interrupt,” she said, looking apologetic, “he was so awful Nicky, he was ruder than anyone I’ve ever met. The director said I’ll still get paid because it isn’t an issue with me, but there are no back-ups so I’ll meet you back at the car after wrap? Text me when you’re done?”

“I will, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, honestly, have fun,” she leaned in to kiss his cheek, whispering “he’s cute, get in there,” to him, promptly turning his cheeks a deeper pink as she turned to leave.

Joe and Nicky barely noticed when the featured couples were brought in and one was seated at the very next table to them. They were too entranced in their own conversation, it turned out they had languages in common, multiple languages and stories of their younger years and University days and their early days in acting and all too much having a good time.

As the shoot wrapped, the pair were too deep in conversation to realise, still eating their desserts and laughing about the time Joe had woken after a house party naked in his garden in University. “Naked?” Nicky asked, laughing but trying not to be too loud or draw too much attention to them.

“It was my now still housemate’s fault,” Joe told him, smiling at the memory.

“Oh do tell, how?” Nicky asked in disbelief.

“You know,” Joe paused, “it’s been nearly 10 years and I’m still not entirely sure,” he grinned, making Nicky laugh.

On the table next to them, the featured couple being filmed were taken away for the post-date interview. A figure who wasn’t their waitress approached their table, “great job you two, perfect background shots,” Andy the director told them. “Finish up when you’re ready,” she put an arm on each of their shoulders and walked off, back into the control room. They finished their desserts and the server brought them the cheque. Both men reached into their pockets, but Joe held his hand out.

“I can get this,” he said.

“No, I can pay,” Nicky reasoned.

“How ‘bout this, you let me pay this time, and it gives us an excuse to get together again?” He paused before adding, “if you’d like there to be a next time, that is.”

Nicky turned pink, right to the tips of his ears. “I’d like that very much,” he said, smiling, holding his hands up in surrender. “But as long as we agree next time it’s my turn,” he told Joe.

“I think that’s a sacrifice I can make,” Joe nodded, putting enough money down to cover their food and a fair tip, they stood to shrug into their jackets and go back into the backstage area, in case they were needed for any reshoots or extra B-roll. They were released an hour or so later, after spending time talking about where they lived and places where they could meet up again in the near future. Before they parted ways and before he missed his train, Joe transferred his number into Nicky’s phone while Nicky did the same in his. As they handed them back, Joe leaned in and pecked Nicky on the cheek, momentarily stunning Nicky long enough for Joe to jog away from him and in the direction of the train station.

This was how Quynh found him minutes later, frozen in place, touching his cheek where Joe’s lips had been, holding his phone. “Well that was the sweetest,” she said, drawing him back to reality.

“Quynh, I was just about to text you,” he stammered, “I thought you were going to meet me at the car?”

“If I hadn’t said anything you’d still be stood there on Wednesday and miss your audition,” she said looping her arm through his. “That guy was hovering around outside the set so Andy said I could stick around so long as I didn’t interfere,” she told him. “I got to watch the monitors with her, you looked like you were having a great time.”

Nicky’s cheeks flashed pink once more as they stepped out into the street. “I did have a good time; we’ve agreed to see each other again,” he confided.

“Look at you Nicoló,” she praised. “You did better than the couple they were filming in front of you,” she told him in a hushed tone.

“Really?” He asked, surprised.

“Absolutely, they were not very well matched,” she commented in a matter-of-fact tone. “I can’t wait to watch that episode.”

“Did Andy say when it would be on?”

“No, but I gave her my number and she said she’d let me know,” Quynh told him, looking quite proud of herself. She _was_ proud of herself.

“Looks like we both had a good time at this shoot,” he said, unlinking himself from her as they reached the car.

“Something on your mind?” Quynh asked as they drove home.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” he tried to wave it off.

“Nicoló, tell me, what is it? You aren’t having second thoughts about seeing him again, are you?”

“Hmm? No, no, no, it’s just… I recognise him from somewhere, I just can’t think where,” he told her. “He mentioned having a few small roles in movies, shows and commercials, but he didn’t tell me what any of them were.” He shrugged. “I’m sure it will come to me,” he said a few moments later, signalling to turn onto their street.

“I’m sure it will,” Quynh assured him.

That night Nicky tossed in his bed, unable to get to sleep. There was something so familiar about that face, he just didn’t know where he’d seen it before. Rolling out of bed he went to the bathroom and drank some water from the tap, splashing more on his face. Returning to his room, he saw the lights of his laptop flashing and gave into the temptation of one more round of Among Us, a new game he and Quynh had played together.

Rather than the game icon however, he was drawn to another shortcut on his desktop, the Netflix one. Opening the desktop app, he went on Quynh’s profile, searching for a movie they had watched the week before, clicking on it to check the cast. His eyes widened. He knew he’d seen that face and heard that name somewhere before. Yusef Al-Kaysani was the name Joe used in the credits for this movie and Joe’s face smiled up at him from a behind the scenes image that flashed onto the screen of the details page.

He remembered the movie, What Happened to Monday? Joe had played the love interest for one of the main characters. It occurred to him there was a sex scene in the movie, and he remembered very clearly seeing Joe’s ass the week before and thinking how good it looked to himself while Quynh had been more vocal with her opinion. He wondered if she had recognised him? No. Surely, she couldn’t have. But he wasn’t sure. He decided to ask her the next morning over their coffee and her smirk told all. “You recognised him?”

“You didn’t?”

“You know you have a better memory for names and faces,” he reminded her.

“Sorry, I thought if I told you, you would have had second thoughts about him. You aren’t, are you?”

Nicky was quiet for a long time; he’d looked up Joe’s other filmography the night before and it was very impressive and a little intimidating. He wondered what a wonderful actor like Joe could see in someone like himself. “I had. But I figured I should let things play out. That is what you’re always telling me, to give things a chance? I need to stay out of my head on this one. Will you help me?”

Quynh’s smile softened as she put her hand on his arm, “always Nicoló.”

_8 months later_

Nicky woke to the feeling of fingers trailing over his bare lower back, stroking down his spine and teasing at the point where the sheet was pooled above the curve of his ass. He felt the scratching of Joe’s beard against his shoulder as Joe’s lips trailed over his skin. Nicky sighed, turning his head to face Joe, eyes adjusting slowly until he was met with the deep chocolate eyes of his boyfriend. “Do you have to go today?” Joe asked softly.

“I’m afraid I must, il mio amore,” Nicky groaned, turning over to face Joe, who was sat against the headboard, sketchbook in his lap. They’d returned from their first couple’s holiday that morning and were resting after a wonderfully exhausting time. Nicky had spent the night at Joe’s but had to get on a train to Cardiff where he and Quynh had a modelling shoot. Normally he wouldn’t travel so far, but the photographer was a friend of Andy’s, who Quynh had kept closely in touch with since meeting. Quynh hadn’t disclosed their exact relationship to Nicky, but he and Joe’s housemate were betting on when they would admit they were an item. Nicky pushed himself up onto his knees and rubbed his eyes in the low light, thank God for blackout curtains. “Why did I agree to something the morning after we arrived back?” He groaned. They had gotten back five hours ago, and Nicky had needed a nap. Vacations, no matter how little time difference there actually was destroyed his sleeping pattern, with all the late nights and sleeping in.

“Because you love Quynh and I believe you said something about low-key threats to your manhood because of how much she wanted this job,” Joe mused next to him.

Nicky’s head fell backwards, his eyes shutting, “right, that’s why. I need a shower,” he muttered, wrinkling his nose and reluctantly climbing off of the bed. Leaning over the bed he kissed Joe’s cheek, pulling his shirt over his head as he headed to the bathroom. Joe watched him go and set aside his sketch book, getting up himself and peaking out of the curtains at the pouring rain which had been falling steadily since they had returned.

Heading downstairs he started boiling the kettle to make Nicky a flask of his favourite tea to drink on his journey. Nile was working in the kitchen having moved in with him and Booker when her lease had run out and smiled as he joined her at the table. “How was your trip?” She asked.

“Amazing, when I get back from seeing him off I’ll show you the photos,” he promised, grinning wildly thinking back on their time in Malta. The front door opened and closed, followed by a flurry of French curses.

“Isn’t your episode of that dating show on tomorrow?” Nile asked as Booker hung up his soaked coat and took off his boots.

Joe’s eyes flashed to the calendar and sure enough, the next days’ date was circled frantically, “looks like it,” he frowned, it had been months since he and Nicky had met as extras on the set of a dating show and finally the episode was airing. It wasn’t a show either of them had ever watched but Nile wanted to watch how they met, even if it was in the background.

Booker popped into the room to kiss Nile’s cheek, his hair dripping water onto his shoulders before he went to shower and change. Nicky joined them in the kitchen, wearing a hoodie he’d stolen from the back of Joe’s door months ago. Every so often he’d get Joe to wear it for a few days if they knew they were going to be apart, so it smelled like him. Joe had worn it for the last few days of their holiday when it cooled on an evening and on the flight home. He was wearing black cargo pants and a t-shirt under the hoodie. “Hi Nile,” he greeted her, still a little groggy from sleep.

“Hey Nicky, good trip?”

Nicky made an affirmative noise, sitting beside Joe, resting his head on his shoulder, he was never talkative when he was tired. “Ready to go Habibi?” Joe murmured.

“Ready, but I’d rather stay,” Nicky mumbled in response. Nicky collected his overnight bag and gave Nile a one-armed goodbye hug before squeezing under an umbrella which Joe was holding outside. Joe drove Nicky’s car to the station and walked with him to the platform, holding the umbrella aloft. The train was delayed by five minutes, but the station was so small there was no covered waiting area, so Nicky faced Joe, chest to chest in the pouring rain, head on his shoulder, trying to get as much of Joe’s scent to stick to the hoodie. The train pulled up to the platform and Joe walked him to the door. Nicky leaned out through the doors to kiss Joe deeply, savouring every second he could until the attendant blew the whistle and he stepped back to let the door close. Quickly finding a window seat, he wiped the condensation away with his hand and waved to Joe as the train pulled away, before digging into his bag for his book, smiling when he found a new poem from Joe written on the scrap of paper he was currently using as a bookmark.

Nicky arrived in Cardiff in the early evening and was greeted by Quynh on the platform, who was eager to know about his and Joe’s time in Malta. He showed her pictures as they were taken to their hotel by the cab driver. “This one is nice, you should print it and get it framed,” she said, turning the phone so he could see which one she was referring to. It was a picture from the balcony of their rented cottage, taken as a selfie by Joe. They were pressed close to each other, Nicky’s chest to Joe’s back, chin over his shoulder, wearing their sunglasses in the sun and in the background you could see along the hill, down to the coast and the beautifully clear ocean and at the last minute before Joe had taken the picture, Nicky had turned his head to kiss Joe’s cheek.

“I do love that one,” he smiled, remembering that day. They had been snorkelling that morning and planned to spend the rest of the day relaxing at the cottage. They had been to the local market the day before and bought fresh ingredients Nicky was planning to cook with. “That was a very good day.” That night they had lay under the stars on the balcony, eating a picnic, sipping wine and watching a meteor shower on some blankets. It had been the night where Joe had told Nicky he loved him and Nicky had not hesitated to say it back, quieting a flustered Joe with a kiss as he panicked he had said it too soon and it didn’t matter if Nicky wasn’t ready to say it back.

After checking in, Nicky text Joe he had arrived safely and left his bag in his room to go out with Quynh to meet up with Andy and her friend who was doing the shoot the next day. It was a tourism shoot so they were being treated like visitors on a trip, they would have their day documented and have to give quotes about their trip to be used in the advertising. Lykon was a very old friend of Andy’s and he told them what they would be doing before insisting they didn’t need to worry about work-talk over dinner.

That night, Nicky slept in Joe’s hoodie, setting six alarms to ensure he woke up on time for the shoot in the morning.

The shoot lasted two days, leaving Nicky so tired he couldn’t keep his eyes open to watch the episode of the show where he had met Joe, but Nile had promised to record it for him so he could see it. Generally, none of them were very active online, with the exception of Nile for mostly work purposes. She knew however, of the trend where people would live-tweet about popular shows while they were watching it and decided to look in at what people were thinking of the episode during the commercial. The first couple had been filmed during a different seating and so Joe and Nicky were nowhere in sight for the first 20 minutes. Their segment was on after the first ad break and when Nile ventured back on Twitter, she saw a new hashtag quickly gaining traction.

_#Background1stDateGays_

After confirming it was about them, she turned to Joe who was sat in the armchair near the window, not really watching the show, so much as sketching absently in his book. “Um, Joe,” she started.

“Hmm?” He asked, not looking up from his work.

“I think you and Nicky are trending on Twitter,” she told him, scrolling through an endless amount of tweets all using the same identifying hashtag.

“People like the episode then?” He asked, not fully understanding her statement, nor really paying it much attention, as Booker looked over her shoulder, his eyes widening.

“No,” he answered for her, “they like you and Nicky though,” he added, pulling his own phone from his jean pocket and searching for the tag. “Merde sacrée,” he muttered when he was presenting with the top retweeted of over two thousand.

“What? No way, we were just in the…” Joe trailed off as Booker presented him with his phone and started scrolling. “Oh Allah,” he muttered, taking the phone in his own fingers. The hashtag was growing more popular by the second as more tweets were coming in and the page demanded to be refreshed.

“‘ _This episode is dryer than the Sahara, I’d rather know the story behind the two guys in the background #Background1stDateGays’_ ” Nile read from her phone. “Several people responded: _‘Ikr, they at least look like they’re having a good time, and hot damn are they cute! #Background1stDateGays’_.” Nile continued reading as Booker looked over her shoulder.

“Oh that’s a good one,” he said, “‘ _I need a man who looks at me the way the #Background1stDateGays look at one and other,’_ aww, that’s pretty sweet. The replies are less sweet, more thirsty,” he chuckled.

“How so?” Joe asked, dreading the answer.

“Take this one,” Nile said, smirking, “‘tell me about it _@Megghhaaan <3 I too want a guy who looks like he wants to bend me over the table but is a gentleman in public… When we get home though __😉😉😉 #Background1stDateGays’”_

“And that’s a somewhat clean one,” Booker smirked, pointing out the reply. “‘ _Agreed, if I were a guy either of those two could bend me over that table any day! #Background1stDateGays I’d let them wreck me.’_ ”

“Oh shit,” Nile exclaimed, 30 minutes later after both she and Booker had been reading tweets to an increasingly flustered Joe, “you’ve been recognised!” She held up her phone to Booker, “from that ad for the gym last year!” Joe tried not to groan, that had been an intense day of being filmed working out and he remembered the tweets that had been said about him when that had recently come out. “And that movie with the post sex scene where you were getting dressed, oh what is it? That movie with Monday in the title?” Joe’s head snapped up, he remembered doing _What Happened to Monday?_ a few years back it had been his biggest role of his career so far and it was how Nicky had recognised him when they had first met. “And the thirst persists, nice ass by the way,” she said appreciatively, seeing a gif from the sex scene. Any normal day he’d have thanked her, but right now he was freaking out. He wondered if Nicky had seen the episode, or the reactions to it. He needed to find out, picking up his phone he walked to his room with a purpose, dialling Nicky.

In Cardiff, Nicky slept on, blissfully unaware of the conversations happening online. Andy and Quynh were about to turn in when Quynh’s phone buzzed with a call from Joe on the desk as she and Andy changed for bed. “It’s Yusef,” she said, confused, answering the phone.

“ _Where’s Nicky?”_ Joe asked, sounding panicked before she could even greet him.

“In his room, he was exhausted and said he was turning in early so he could get an earlier train back,” Quynh told him, still confused. “Is everything alright?” She asked, putting him on speaker so Andy could hear him too.

 _“Our episode aired tonight, Nile checked Twitter and it’s blowing up with a hashtag about us and I wanted to give him some warning, also I figured he may be freaking out if he’d seen it. I got recognised from an ad I did earlier this year and Nile said Nicky just got recognised too,”_ Joe said, worried. 

“Do you want me to go check on him?” Quynh asked, now concerned for Nicky. “Where was he recognised from?” She added, wondering.

_“A modelling job he did a couple of years ago, the underwear and jeans photos specifically.”_

Quynh made a sound of recognition, that ad campaign had really helped Nicky’s career take off for modelling shoots and he got a couple of minor roles as ‘one-night-stands’ or ‘the hot guy at the bar’ from it too. “Should I check in?” She repeated.

_“No, no, he hasn’t seen my messages, so I think he’s asleep, what time is your train tomorrow?”_

“Early, about 6:45,” Quynh told him, checking the tickets on the hotel room desk.

_“I’ll meet you guys at the station to pick you up, goodnight.”_

“Night Joe.” Joe hung up and Quynh relayed what had been said to Andy while opening Twitter on her phone to see the tweets for herself. At first, she found tame ones, interested in how their date ended, but all too soon she was looking at a _lot_ of thirsty tweets about her best friend and his boyfriend.

The following morning, Nicky woke to his alarm, hit the snooze button and rolled over, pulling the hood up on Joe’s hoodie, clinging to his last moments of sleep. He knew if he did it too many times Quynh would come knocking but right now he just wanted more sleep. After two more rounds of the snooze button, Nicky dragged himself from bed and into the bathroom to shower, dressing in comfortable clothing for the long train journey ahead and headed down to meet Quynh and Andy for breakfast, pocketing his phone for later.

Quynh decided not to mention the tweets or the hashtag unless Nicky brought it up himself. Nicky, while confident on stage and camera when he needed to be, was naturally quite introverted and if he knew what was being said online, he may refuse to board the train and hide in his hotel room. Often people thought they were mistaken when they did meet him, because the Nicky they saw on screen was just a character, not himself. When he didn’t bring it up she thought they were safe, though to be sure, she lied about leaving her phone upstairs and asking to borrow his to check on an email she was expecting, draining what little battery he had left, killing his phone with no time to charge it before their train.

Andy kissed Quynh goodbye on the platform, she had another few more days of work in Cardiff before she would join them at their place for a week off. Nicky, to Quynh’s relief, spent the first half of the journey with the hood up and his head resting on Quynh’s shoulder while she read. When he woke, he picked up a Metro that had been left on a seat across the aisle and started to work out the crossword and sudoku. Quynh initially panicked when she saw pictures of the two of them on the front page with the #Background1stDateGays splashed across the front, but luckily when Nicky closed the paper, he turned to the back and folded it in half.

While Nicky didn’t notice the front page, he did notice people staring at him and whispering. This wasn’t new, he had been recognised before from ad campaigns or his small movie roles, but something about this time felt different and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Joe tapped his foot impatiently waiting for Nicky and Quynh’s train to get in. It was delayed by 30 minutes, but he hadn’t found that out until he had arrived to pick them up. He was concerned about Nicky; his own agent had been calling him non-stop saying people wanted to know whether he and Nicky’s date went well and if it weren’t for the fact Quynh had drained his phone, Nicky would’ve been receiving similar calls. He thanked Allah when the train finally pulled up to the platform, smiling as Nicky hugged him tightly in greeting. “Sorry I couldn’t let you know, my phone died and then so did Quynh’s on the journey,” Nicky apologised.

“Think nothing of it, my heart” Joe smiled, suddenly conscious of people around them watching, he was certain someone had just taken a picture of the two of them, “let’s get you home?” He urged, taking the bag from Nicky’s shoulder and handing over a fresh hoodie he had been wearing while Nicky was away. Nicky changed while they walked, kissing Joe’s cheek as he climbed into the car. Joe made sure to keep Nicky and Quynh talking about their shoot the whole drive, knowing that most radio stations they usually listened to were discussing the way the audience had been captivated by the two now identified people in the background of the dating show.

“How was the show?” Nicky asked suddenly and Joe’s face fell, they were almost home, he thought he’d gotten away with being able to tell Nicky in his own time. “What’s the matter?” Nicky asked, “did they cut it?”

“No, no,” Joe said quickly, trying to think of something to say. “The show went good, Nile was glad to finally see us how we met,” he said distracted.

“Yusef,” Nicky said, and he was using _that voice_ the voice Joe couldn’t help but answer to. “Tell me what happened,” he said firmly. “Everyone is acting strangely today, and I want to know why.”

“Well…” Joe trailed off before he’d really begun, “it wasn’t bad, people liked it, they really liked it a lot, it just wasn’t the featured couple they were interested in,” Joe told him, quieter, hoping Nicky wouldn’t catch on.

“So what were they interested in?”

Joe cursed, spying his phone between their seats, he sighed, “you should check twitter,” he said, nodding to the device. “The hashtag is trending at number 1, just… Try not to be too upset, I wanted to tell you when we were alone,” he said quietly. “I tried to call and check in with you last night, but you must have already been asleep,” he explained while Nicky scrolled, pulling a few interesting faces. Quynh and Joe locked eyes in the mirror briefly. Suddenly, both of them snapped their gaze to Nicky who was chuckling in the passenger seat. “Nicoló?” Joe asked as they arrived at Nicky and Quynh’s home.

Nicky just smiled and leaned across the gap to kiss him. “Let’s get inside,” Nicky chuckled, handing Joe his phone back.

Inside, Joe and Quynh watched Nicky go to the kitchen and start making tea, putting his laundry straight into the machine. “Nicoló, is everything alright?” Joe asked, cautiously.

“Why shouldn’t it be?” Nicky asked, plugging his phone into the socket on the wall. “Yusef, we have been wondering for a while how to come public, the show did it for us and well, everyone we wanted to know, like our friends and families, we told ourselves, so it isn’t like it took that away from us. And while I admit, some of the tweets are graphic,” he said, remembering reading some that would be scorched into his brain forever, “the response is overwhelmingly positive.” Suddenly Nicky’s phone rang, he took the call from his agent, explaining his phone had died, leaving out the part where Quynh was responsible. Joe and Quynh waited for him to take the call and sat at the table with mugs of tea when he was finished. “They want us to release something, if we’re comfortable with it, to show we are together, apparently the audience is demanding answers and the show would like us to let people know.” Nicky explained, though Joe already knew what their agents wanted. “We’ve both gained a lot of followers on Twitter, so they think it will spread the news easily.”

“Did you have anything in mind?” Quynh asked when Joe sat quietly, contemplating.

“I was thinking maybe a picture of us from Malta.” Nicky told her.

Joe’s face scrunched in confusion, “which picture from Malta?” Nicky turned his phone towards him, Joe smirked. It was both his and Nicky’s favourite picture. “Ah, _that_ picture from Malta.”

Joe moved around the table, so he was sat on Nicky’s other side that wasn’t occupied by Quynh to help compose the tweet, taking out his own phone to retweet it immediately. Once it was done, the pair of them put their phones down, not intending to look at them for a while to give themselves time to take it all in. Quynh took the keys for the car and headed shopping with an extensive list, to allow Nicky to avoid going out, knowing he was being recognised. He didn’t mind people knowing, but the staring made him uncomfortable. He and Joe left their phones in the kitchen and moved to the lounge to watch the newest episode of The Good Place and then Criminal Spain on Netflix, having finished the UK series.

Quynh interrupted them upon her return, holding out both of their phones. “Guys your agents are blowing up your phones in there,” she said, handing them over. Joe sat up from where he was leaning against Nicky to take his and read his messages.

“What is it?” Nicky asked, watching him scroll through.

“My agent says he’s getting a crazy number of requests from companies and TV shows for auditions and some outright parts,” Joe said, smiling, “how about yours?”

Nicky scrolled through his phone, “same as you,” he said risking a glance at Twitter. “I think it’s safe to say they like the Malta picture,” he said as Quynh read over the back of his shoulder.

“Like? More like love,” she commented at the sheer number of retweets and replies it had received.

“I hope they don’t expect us to be one of those social media couples,” Nicky said, wrinkling his nose.

Joe pulled a face, “Oh, I hope not,” he agreed as his phone rang. He took the call, Nicky and Quynh watching carefully. “My agent says they want us on a morning Talk Show.” He told them, covering the microphone.

“What day?”

“Which one?”

“Tuesday, This Morning on ITV,” Joe told him. “It’s your choice Habibi,” Joe said softly, ignoring Quynh’s pleading look, she watched that show most mornings she wasn’t working and adored the hosts. “They just want to talk to us about how we got together, nothing intrusive.”

Nicky thought about it and smiled, “I suppose it would be nice to get our story out there. And if Quynh can tag along,” he teased her. Joe grinned and told his agent they were in, who said he would forward the details as Quynh hugged Nicky, kissing his hair.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m going to meet Phil and Holly,” she squealed, “I need to decide what to wear!” She rushed upstairs.

“Guess Quynh was right,” Nicky said after a moment, watching her go.

“About what?”

“It was her idea to do that shoot,” he shrugged. “Without it I never would have met you,” he smiled leaning forward to capture Joe’s lips. “Ti amo Yusef,” he murmured, resting their foreheads together.

“Ti amo Nicoló cuore mio.”

That picture from Malta:


End file.
